Anti-open grazing: Give us time to train our members, Miyetti Allah begs Lagos

The south-west chapter of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) says it needs time to train its members on how to stop the practice of open grazing.

Maikudi Usman, zonal secretary of south-west MACBAN, made the plea on Wednesday at the public hearing of the Lagos state anti-open grazing bill.

He said the members of the association need time to be educated on “how they will be breeding cattle in one place and not transfer to anybody’s land”.

“Our breeders are not used to breeding cattle in one place. They move from here to another place. When we say we’ll keep cattle in one place, the owner of the cattle will not have funds to feed the animals in one place,” Usman said.

“They’ve already depended on going from one place to another. Because in the rainy season time, we have where we settle down, and we also have for the dry season.

“We are pleading with Lagos state government to give us time to go tell our people and train them how they will be breeding cattle in one place and not transfer to anybody’s land.

“But breeding in one place, right now, our people do not have the power to do so. What you’re not used to, you have to be taught. And gradually, everybody will understand.”

On Monday, the anti-open grazing bill passed the second reading at the Lagos state house of assembly.

If the bill is passed, Lagos will be joining some other states in the country’s southern region that have codified the prohibition of open grazing into law.